Examining the association between teacher support and commitment as well as willingness to communicate in Chinese college students: The sequential mediation role of growth language mindset and enjoyment

Building on the growing interest in exploring the comprehensive mechanisms linking social context, personality factors, and emotions in relation to academic achievement, this study constructed a chain mediation model to examine the relationships among teacher support, growth language mindset, emotion, commitment to active learning, and willingness to communicate in the second language (L2 WTC). Data were collected from 880 undergraduate students through questionnaires. The results revealed the following: (1) Teacher support, including emotional, academic, and technology support, as well as growth language mindset, were positively and significantly associated with enjoyment. (2) Growth language mindset and enjoyment positively predicted both commitment to active learning and L2 WTC. (3) Teacher support did not directly predict commitment to active learning or L2 WTC but influenced these outcomes indirectly. Specifically, it predicted commitment to active learning through the serial mediation of growth language mindset and enjoyment and predicted L2 WTC through the mediating effect of growth language mindset. Based on these findings, teachers are encouraged to optimize course content, employ strategies like humor to foster emotional resonance and positive teacher-student relationships, and harness a range of technological tools to effectively promote students’ active learning commitment and L2 WTC.